Blocked Driveway

---lee---

Inform the police. According to the road traffic act, it's illegal to obstruct access to a public highway – that is, it’s illegal for someone to block your driveway and prevent you from driving your car onto the public road but if there's no car on the driveway, it's not illegal for someone to block it.

derrick

---lee--- wrote: »

Inform the police. According to the road traffic act, it's illegal to obstruct access to a public highway – that is, it’s illegal for someone to block your driveway and prevent you from driving your car onto the public road but if there's no car on the driveway, it's not illegal for someone to block it.

Suppose your car is in the garage when they obstruct? see my post #5, the Q on the web site is:-
Someone has parked on the road outside my house blocking my driveway and I can't get in or out. What can I do?

And the answer is:-

The vehicle is causing an obstruction and so you should call your local police station. We will check whether the vehicle is stolen and an officer will be asked to attend.

Also see my reply #9. The police have never made a distinction to me.

glenderg

mee wrote: »

Hi there

I live across the road from a local Royal Mail sorting office in London. Every morning the red vans clog up the road while they load up for their routes.

Aquote from my local borough web site.

Dropped kerb/driveway enforcement
Fines for cars blocking dropped kerbs or driveways

Motorists who park alongside a dropped kerb in xxxxxxxx could come back to find a £80 parking fine on their windscreen. From 27 February 2006 any motorist blocking a dropped kerb or driveway risks a fine of £80 (reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days).

Dropped kerbs are provided to help pedestrians cross the road or to assist vehicles to cross the footway to residents driveways. Inconsiderate parking can prevent residents, particularly people with disabilities and persons with pushchairs, from crossing the public highway in a safe manner, and also prevents the residents from getting their vehicles back on the road.

Due to a change in legislation the “obstruction offence” which was enforced by the Metropolitan Police, has now been “decriminalised” by Section 14 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003. The decriminalisation of this offence allows a Penalty Charge Notice to be issued by the Council against vehicles that park adjacent to a dropped kerb. The new legislation refers to two different types of dropped kerbs; (a) the enforcement of a dropped kerb where a vehicle is obstructing pedestrian access, (b) the enforcement of a single occupancy driveway for residential premises. However in respect of the single occupancy driveways, enforcement action can only be instigated at the request of the occupier of the premises.

Any resident who finds their dropped kerb blocked by an inconsiderate motorist should call the council's parking hot line onxxxxx000000 or fill in the enforcement request form. We will arrange for a parking attendant to visit the location, and if necessary issue a penalty charge notice with a parking fine of £80.

derrick

it is my understanding that parking attendants can only enforce yellow line infringements and not obstruction! it is with my local council as I tried our local PAs who told me that and therefore why I use the police.

Quinny_2

Get a friend to park their car right up to the rear bumper of one of the vans,and you do the same at the front,then go away for a few hours,and see what they do.

Ken.

ttoli

Mee, up till 5 years ago i worked in Lewishams Police control room, and dealt with these incidents all the time, i know its not what you want to hear but such incidents were given a very low priority(due to too many calls and not enough Officers), visit the local Pol stn in person and ask to speak to the Sector inspector or make a call (if the switchboard ever answer!!) to the Traffic Division, this is where Wardens are based.Hope this helps

saintjanet

The problem is now there are too many vehicles and not enough road!!

I live in a mixed road of terraced,semi and detached houses,i have a garage at the rear of my semi,some people in the terraced houses have as many as three even four cars and park anywhere they can,sometimes partly outside others drives,making it difficult for them to get out.

No one seems to care that a transit van parked right up to someones gates,with another at the other side makes it a bit difficult to get out onto a main road like ours,especially during the rush hour,they all park partly on the pavement too,police and community officers ignore it all when they pass,if they moved everyone onto the road the traffic would grind to a halt,as about 20 buses an hour also use the road.There is also a fishing shop nearby and their customers block everyone in,even though they put a notice in the shop window!!seems to be the way of the world now.